by Ian Wallace & illustrated by Ian Wallace ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2008
On a night “hot enough to wake the dead,” Brando and his family seek relief on the sleeping porch. Sure enough, leaping through the screen from the cemetery below comes a ghost cat: “Hot dog, it’s a hot night,” it yawns, before taking Brando on a fanciful tour of the night sky, past the melting city, through Saturn’s rings and a pod of flying right whales to an iceberg on “a sea of shimmering ice.” Wallace modulates his tale from reality to fantasy and back again nicely, the events of Brando’s nighttime adventure unfurling with the nonsensical logic of a dream. Sensuous language puts readers directly into the moment: The bits of ice Brando and Graveyard Cat enjoy taste “like winter on their tongues.” The dialogue between the two tends toward stiffness, however, as do some of the cool, watercolor compositions; the gorgeous, silvery blue-and-green fantasy panoramas of whales and icebergs succeed brilliantly where some of the close-ups do not. In all, a quietly whimsical way to beat the heat. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-88899-826-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2008
Share your opinion of this book
More by Susan Vande Griek
BOOK REVIEW
by Susan Vande Griek ; illustrated by Ian Wallace
BOOK REVIEW
by Ian Wallace ; illustrated by Ian Wallace
BOOK REVIEW
by Rudyard Kipling ; illustrated by Ian Wallace
by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
Awards & Accolades
Likes
75
Our Verdict
GET IT
IndieBound Bestseller
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Craig Smith
BOOK REVIEW
by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley
BOOK REVIEW
by Doug MacLeod ; illustrated by Craig Smith
BOOK REVIEW
by Adam Osterweil and illustrated by Craig Smith
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
GET IT
Google Rating
Kirkus Reviews'
Best Books Of 2017
New York Times Bestseller
by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 22, 2017
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
GET IT
Google Rating
Kirkus Reviews'
Best Books Of 2017
New York Times Bestseller
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Share your opinion of this book
More by Aaron Reynolds
BOOK REVIEW
by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown
BOOK REVIEW
by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Cam Kendell
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.